Silver for Anzhelika Terliuha: Ukraine celebrates first medal at 2025 World Games
Photo: Anzhelika Terliuha (right) (Getty Images)
Ukrainian karateka Anzhelika Terliuha has claimed Ukraine's first medal at the 2025 World Games, currently taking place in Chengdu, China. She earned a silver medal in the under-55 kg category.
Defeat and protest in the semifinal
The Ukrainian's path to the final turned out to be extremely dramatic. In the semifinal, Anzhelika initially lost to China's Yu Chun Wei with a score of 1:9. However, the Ukrainian delegation disputed the result and filed an official protest.
After reviewing the match, the competition organizers overturned the decision and awarded Terliuha a 4:3 victory. This allowed the Ukrainian athlete to advance to the final and fight for the gold medal.
How the final went
In the final, Terliuha faced four-time European champion Mia Bitsch from Germany.
The bout began cautiously, with both competitors receiving warnings for passivity. Just 27 seconds before the end, the German athlete scored three points, which Terliuha managed to respond to with one point, but there wasn't enough time left. The final score was 3:1 in favor of Bitsch.
As a result, Anzhelika was unable to defend her World Games champion title, which she had earned in 2022 in Birmingham, England. However, her silver medal marks Ukraine's first award at this year's competition.
Who is Anzhelika Terliuha
The 33-year-old Ukrainian karateka was born in Odesa.
She is a silver medalist of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a three-time European champion in individual events, and a two-time champion in team events. She is also a multiple-time winner of the prestigious Karate1 Premier League.
In December 2024, she became a mother but returned to competitive sports and continues to deliver top-level performances.
Earlier, we reported how a 16-year-old Ukrainian conquered Formula 4.
